Chapter 1 - Our World is Changing Exponentially

"The future is faster than you think."

–Peter H. Diamandis & Steven Kotler

The global COVID-19 pandemic—which persists as this book is being written—was an unexpected and historic event. It was also shocking, not just because millions of people died and hundreds of millions more fell ill, but because of its sheer speed and the disruption it left in its wake. 

As sophisticated and technologically astute citizens of the 21st century, we thought we had acclimated to the blistering rate of change that had characterized the past decades of technological revolution in the global economy. Then came COVID, infiltrating the entire world in a matter of months. Its speed left little time for strategy or thoughtful consideration. We were simply, suddenly, overwhelmed by a life-threatening force that propagated at speeds that rapidly outpaced any technological change, forcing society and business, workers and leaders, to reinvent every aspect of our daily work and home lives almost overnight.

The true nature of exponential growth and impact became painfully clear, acted out in real-time every day for more than two years.